Another Cartwright
by Bonnie Celt
Summary: When Tharyn runs away from her kidnappers, the O'Rileys, she is found on the Ponderosa by Ben and Little Joe. Will she be able to evade the O'Rileys and become the fifth Cartwright? ON HOLD FOR NOW
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, ya'll! It's me Bonnie Celt. Since my LOTR story was gone so well, I thought I'd try something new! Hope ya'll enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

The year 1861, and seventeen-year-old Tharyn is wondering in a hilly, mountainous region of the Nevada Territory. Tharyn is the younger sister of the twin stage robbers known as the O'Riley Brothers. Well, actually she is not related to them at all; she had been kidnapped by them when she was eighteen months old. While her twin "brothers" were obviously Irish with flaming red hair, Tharyn had chocolate brown curls that reached her waist.

Her brothers had never treated her all that great. They had protected her from other bandits and such, but at the cost of never allowing her to leaving their hideout. Tharyn had never had any friends because of this, and her so-called brothers left her alone for extended periods of time as they "made their rounds" robbing stagecoaches. This always had made Tharyn wonder about Seamus and Sean. They said they were her brothers, but they never act like what Tharyn thought brothers should. They never played with her when she was little, and they never just talked to her now. They kept her holed up in an abandoned hunting cabin way up in the mountains, and they never once, in Tharyn's memory, told her that they loved her. Surely brothers said that kind of thing _sometimes_.

On the others hand, they brought her new dresses when the old ones were starting to get holes and such in them, and new shoes when she out grew the old ones. They had even once brought her a strand of carved wooden beads as a necklace. She wore this always, trying to show them that she loved them and wanted to be with them. At least, until she found out that they had kidnapped her and killed her real family in a stagecoach hold-up.

Sean and Seamus had been gone three weeks and would not be back for another one. For some reason their room in the cabin had been off limits to Tharyn for as far back as she could remember. However, she had been doing laundry, which included some of their clothes. She had washed them, hung them up to dry, and folded them up neatly.

"Well," she told herself, "surely they won't be mad at me for putting their clothes up for them." So, she pushed the door open and went over to the rickety dresser the two shared. Opening a drawer, she got ready to put the shirts and pants away when a newspaper clipping in the bottom of the drawer caught her attention. She carefully put the clothes in the drawer, and picked up the yellowing piece of paper.

At the top were two pictures. One was of Sean and Seamus in their late teens. The other was of a handsome man and his pretty wife who was holding a baby girl in her arms. The headline read:

**O'Riley Brothers Murder Knight Family And Kidnaps Baby**

Tharyn could not believe it. The couple in the picture was the same couple in the picture Sean and Seamus had said was theirparents. The picture was setting on Tharyn's nightstand right now. Tharyn looked closer at the picture. Sean and Seamus bore no resemblance to either one of her parents. Yes, they were _her_ parents; she could tell the baby in the picture was herself. Sean and Seamus, the ones she had loved as brothers for seventeen years were her kidnappers! Tears welled up in her eyes. She crumpled the article in her hands. Anger such as she had never known before rose in her chest at their betrayal. No wonder they had never seemed to care her; _she was_ _not their sister at all!_ Yanking off the wooden beads at her throat, she ran to bedroom and pulled a small satchel out from under her bed. She stuffed a few articles of clothing in it, the picture of her parents from her bedside table, and the now folded news article. She threw on her worn shawl and pick-up one last thing, a small velvet box from a corner of a dresser-drawer. In it was a pair of pearl earrings that belong to her mother. She had worn them in her picture. With that she dashed out of the cabin, wanting to get as far away as possible before her bro-no, captors returned.

She decided to head to a town. Sean and Seamus always avoided towns and cities. The nearest town she knew of was called Virginia City. She had listened to the O'Rileys enough to know which direction to go, but what she did not know was that her path would take her right through a ranch called the Ponderosa.

**Chapter 2**

_Three days later…_

Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe Cartwright were sitting around the breakfast table discussing the plan of action for the day.

The silver-haired father looked over at his three sons. "The foreman said a section of fence in the east pasture was knocked down in last night's storm. Adam and Hoss, you two ride over and check it out. Joe, you and I will go and check the traps we set up in the hills. It's been awhile since I've been up that way."

"Yes, Pa." the young men chorused. The four Cartwrights finished their wonderful breakfast, courtesy of their cook Hop Sing, and saddled their horses. Hop Sing came out with canteens of water and some food for them to take along for their lunch. Thanking him, the foursome rode out, each pair going in their own direction.

It took an hour or so for Ben and Joe to reach rocky, hilly region that marked the edge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Only a few of their traps had been touched on the lower parts of the hills, however, so they headed up into higher altitudes.

Joe was keeping his eyes peeling for their traps when he heard his pa call him. The young Cartwright turned to where his father was pointing. It appeared that something was in a clump of bushes, and it was a little big to be an animal. Ben and Joe quietly dismounted and slowly drew their guns for their holsters. At Ben's nod, Joe quickly pulled the bushes back so that they could see what it was in there. Or rather, _who_ it was in there, for it was a girl, lying there asleep. Both men were astonished. How and why would a girl be wandering alone in the wilderness?

The girl was young, about sixteen to seventeen years old probably. She wore a grey cotton dress, black leather ankle boots and a woolen shawl, all of which were well-worn. A small brown leather bag was slung across her shoulder. Her face was pale and drawn, and there were dark circles under her eyes. There were a few small scratches on her face and hands. Her long, dark brown hair was a tangled mess of curls and there were small twigs and leaf bits in it. Clearly, she had trekked quite a way on her own, in the dark as well as daylight, and had hidden in the bushes to rest.

Ben put his gun away in its holster as he slowly knelt be the girl. Joe did the same. Why on earth was she out here, alone? Ben reached out and gently shook her shoulder. When she did not wake, he called softly to her and shook her again. Once again, she did not respond.

"Gee, she must _really_ be exhausted." Joe whispered.

Ben nodded. "I think we'd better get her back to the house, Joe. We need to find out who her folks are." Joe nodded in understanding. Ben mounted his bay horse and motioned for Joe to pass her up to him. Joe gently picked her up and eased her into her father's arms. Then, he mounted his own horse, and followed his father back down the trail to the ranch house.

Once they got back to the house, Joe took the horses to the barn while Ben took the girl inside. He carefully laid her out on the couch in the main room. She was running a slight fever, but that was not all that surprising, seeing as she had clearly stayed out in the elements last night. He found a quilt and draped in over her small frame. Then, he went to find Hop Sing and tell him about their young guest.

Joe came in from taking care of the horses, dropped his hat and gun-belt on the table by the door, and went over to the couch. He leaned over the back of it and looked down at the sleeping young woman. In spite of the fact that her face looked like she had not slept or eaten in days and her hair was an absolute mess, she was still kind of pretty. Ben called him, and with a sigh, Joe left the girl to slumber.

It was around two in the afternoon when Adam and Hoss returned from fixing the fence in the east pasture. Ben was just about to see if he could wake the girl again when they came in the door. Ben and Joe had eaten lunch hours ago and Hop Sing had made some broth for the girl. It was getting along in the afternoon, and Ben was sure that she had not eaten in a while, so, he decided to see if he could get her to eat.

Hoss and Adam came in and saw that someone was laid out on the couch and their pa had a bowl of soup in his hands.

"Uh, hi, Pa." said Hoss. "What's goin' on?"

"While we were up in the foothills looking for the traps we found her asleep in a bush." Little Joe explained as he came down stairs. "How was the fence?"

"Pretty much demolished." answered Adam. "What was she doing up there? Was she alone?"

Ben sighed. "Well, as far as we could tell, she was. I have no idea why she would have been up there." He looked down at the girl and passed the bowl to Joe for him to hold. "I was just about to wake her up and see if she would eat. I think it's been awhile since her last meal." He sat on the edge of the cushion and gently shook her arm. This time she woke up immediately, and Ben found himself looking into one of the prettiest pairs of big brown eyes he had ever seen. The girl instantly sat up, fear etched in her face. She looked around wildly as if afraid of something in particular being there. "It's alright." Ben soothed. "We're not going to hurt you; we just want to help you." The girl looked up at him and the boys with fearful eyes. She then closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. She opened her eyes. She seemed to have calmed down a bit and nodded that she had understood what Ben had said.

Ben smiled. "You'd better lie back down. You're still pretty weak." She slowly complied, her eyes never leaving his face. "Here, our cook, Hop Sing, made some soup for you. You must be hungry." He said, taking the bowl back from Joe. The girl nodded. Ben dipped the spoon in the soup and held it out her to take a bite. She hesitated.

"Go on, anything Hop Sing makes is good!" encouraged Hoss.

"Yeah, we can tell," laughed Joe. "You eat enough of it!" The girl gave a small grin at the look Hoss sent Joe's way. She opened her mouth and took a sip from the spoon Ben was still holding.

"What I tell ya. Good, ain't it?" Hoss smiled down at her. She gave a little smile and nodded. As she took another bite, Hoss introduced himself. "And what might your name be?" he asked gently.

**Chapter 3**

When Tharyn woke up surrounded by strangers in a strange house, she was scared. She immediately looked around for the O'Rileys. Thankfully, they were nowhere in sight.

She was lying on a couch and a kind-looking, silver-haired gentleman with blue eyes was sitting on the edge next to her. Standing beside him was a young man with dark wavy hair and dark eyes who looked only a few years older than herself. Looking over the back of the couch were two more young men. One, who said his name was Hoss, was very tall and muscular built. He looked like he could have been Goligath's brother but he had such a round honest face that Tharyn liked him right away. He had fair hair and blue eyes. The other was tall too but a bit slimmer built. He too had dark hair and eyes like and appeared to be the oldest of the young men, with the gentle giant next, and other young man last. They all seemed to be the silver-haired man's sons

"Tharyn, Tharyn Knight." She answered Hoss's question softly. She had almost said "O'Riley" but she caught herself in time.

"Tharyn, that's a pretty name. I'm pleased to meet you. I'm Adam." The oldest son said with a smile.

"I'm Little Joe, at least, that what everyone calls me." The youngest piped up. Then the father spoke.

"I'm Ben Cartwright. We found you up in the foothills this morning. Why were you up there? Do you live up there somewhere?" Slowly, Tharyn nodded. "Well then, if you just tell us were your folks live, we can take you home…"Ben was suddenly interrupted by Tharyn shaking her head fiercely.

"No, please don't!" she pleaded. Ben frowned.

"Don't you want to go back to your family?" he asked.

Tharyn bowed her head. "I don't have a family anymore." she murmured. She slowly drew the old newspaper article out of her bag on the floor. She handed it to Ben. Joe looked over his shoulder and gasped. Ben's eyes widened as he read the title.

"What is it, Pa?" Adam asked. Wordlessly, Ben handed the piece of paper over. Adam and Hoss read it in disbelief. "Your parents' murderers kidnapped you?" Adam asked in astonishment.

Tharyn nodded. Tears welled up in her eyes. "And I've been living with them as their sister for sixteen years." she wept. "Sixteen years! And I never suspected a thing until three days ago when I found this clipping." She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead on them.

"You've been livin' with 'em?" Hoss exclaimed. "These O'Rileys told you that you were their sister?" Tharyn nodded and gave a muffled affirmative. Ben reached over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Tharyn." Ben whispered. She raised her head and thanked him, trying to dry her tears as she did, but tears continued to flow. Ben quickly hand the bowl of now cold soup to Joe, and pulled the crying girl into a gentle embrace. "It's alright." He whispered. "Just let it all out." He wasn't sure just how long he sat there with Tharyn crying into his chest, but it must have been awhile, because Joe took the bowl back to the kitchen and all three boys went back outside to do their chores. Eventually, her sobs quieted and her breathing became slow and regular. When he was sure she was asleep, he gently laid her back down, and went out to find his sons.

**Chapter 4**

Ben Cartwright found his three sons in the barn, grooming their horses. As he approached, he could hear that they were talking about Tharyn Knight.

"Poor little filly," Hoss was saying. "Growin' up thinkin' she had brothers only to find out they were her kidnappers!"

"And her parents' killers." added Adam. "How a man could do a thing like that…" he said.

"It's simple." said Joe. "They were born without hearts." Just then, Ben entered the barn.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you boys have taken some interest in her." He said. "Tomorrow I'm going into Virginia City to tell the sheriff about her. She may have some family back East. Until then, I think she had better stay here with us." Adam, Hoss, and Joe agreed.

A couple of hours later, Hop Sing was calling the Cartwrights in to dinner. As they walked in the door, Hoss took a deep sniff. "Mmm, fried chicken!" he said with a smile. Then, they all four stood still. Tharyn was standing next to Hop Sing…..with an apron on. "What in tarnation are she doing up and about?" Hoss asked, concerned. "Hop Sing, why didn't you make her lie back down?"

Hop Sing shrugged. "She come into kitchen, ask to help. I tell her, 'You weak. You better lie back down.' She say she fine, and she can cook. She want to help Hop Sing fix dinner. I let her."

"I really didn't do much," Tharyn said quickly. "I just set the table, and kept an eye on the chicken while Mr. Hop Sing cooked the green beans and mashed potatoes."

"Ahh, you forget, you help season chicken." Hop Sing said. "Miss Tharyn told Hop Sing to put rosemary on chicken."

Tharyn became embarrassed and looked down at her shoes. "It was just a suggestion." She mumbled.

"Well, we'll find out how good of a suggestion it was, won't we?" Ben said with a smile. As the men sat down, Tharyn turned with Hop Sing to go back to the kitchen. Ben stopped her. "Are you going to eat with us?" he asked.

"We really wish you would." said Adam. Tharyn looked back at Hop Sing who nodded.

"I'll help with the dishes when I'm done." she promised.

"Oh, no. You help in kitchen before dinner. You no help in kitchen after." said Hop Sing firmly.

"But…"

"No buts. You guest. You eat and rest, Miss Tharyn." Hop Sing turned and went back into the kitchen before she could argue anymore. Tharyn walked around to the empty seat across next to Joe. He immediately rose, held the chair out for her, and helped her scoot back in. Tharyn blushed at the gentlemanly conduct; the O'Rileys never did anything like that for her. Ben said the blessing and they all dug in to the wonderful looking meal provided by Hop Sing.

"Hoo-wee, this is good chicken!" Hoss said, looking across the table at Tharyn, who blushed.

"Is there any fried chicken that you didn't like?" Joe asked teasingly. Hoss thought for a minute.

"No, I don't think so." came the rather predictable answer. They all laughed.

Throughout dinner, the Cartwrights told Tharyn about themselves. The things they had done, the innumerable scrapes they had to get each other out of. They were all courteous and kind. They treated Tharyn like she was one of the family. The O'Rileys never asked her opinion on this, or what she thought about that. They had rarely even talked to her in recent years.

After dinner, they all went into the living room. Ben took his cup of coffee with him and sat in one of the armchairs and got out a book. Adam was on the sofa reading as well. Hoss challenged Joe to a game of chess. Tharyn sat next to Adam on the couch.

"What are you reading?" Tharyn asked. From what the others had said, she figured it was a scientific book of some kind. She was pleasantly surprised when Adam said it was some of Shakespeare's sonnets and plays. "You read Shakespeare?" she asked.

"Do you?" he countered.

"Yes! I love Shakespeare! I absolutely love 'A Mid-Summer's Night Dream'!" she answered.

Ben looked up from his own book. "Really? How did you get a hold of Shakespeare?" he asked, amazed.

"Sean and Seamus gave me a book of his plays in story form." she said. "They told me that I would be able to understand it better. Of course, it was easier to read, but more than half of the dialogue was lost."

"I imagine it would be." said Adam. "Here, I think 'A Mid-Summer's Night Dream' is in here." He offerd Tharyn the book he was holding.

Tharyn shook her head. "But you're reading it."

"Tharyn, there are plenty of books for me to read. Here, go ahead." He offered the book once more. This time Tharyn hesitantly took it from him. She immediately found the page number for her favorite play and began reading. Adam and Ben looked over at her, watching her fall into the world of one of Shakespeare's immortal plays. As Adam retrieved another book from the bookshelf, he heard a little giggle come from Tharyn and smiled as he sat back down on the sofa.

Just then, Joe and Hoss looked up from their game of chess.

"What are you reading, Tharyn?" asked Joe. He got no reply, so engrossed was she in the book. Joe looked over at Adam.

"'A Mid-Summer's Night Dream'." Adam replied.

"Shakespeare?" Hoss and Joe exclaimed in unison. Tharyn looked up.

"What's wrong with Shakespeare?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing," assured Ben. "It's just not their cup of tea."

"Oh." she giggled. "What's the matter? Don't you like daring sword fights, magic spells, and tragic or comedic romances?" Hoss and Joe just shook their heads.

Suddenly, the clock on the mantel chimed out nine 'o' clock.

"Well," said Ben. "It's getting late. I'd better show Tharyn her room." He rose from his chair.

Tharyn reluctantly got up to, and handed Adam the book back. "Thank you for letting me read your book, Mr. Adam." she said.

"You're welcome to read it anytime, Tharyn, and, like I told you at dinner, there's no need for the 'Mister'." Adam replied.

"Oh, right,…Adam." She answered hesitantly. Picking up her bag, she followed Ben up the stairs. At the landing she turned and leaned over the railing. "Good night, everyone." she called. A chorus of "Good night, Tharyn." replied. Ben opened the door to the guest room.

"This will be your room. Call one of us if you need anything." He said.

"Thank you for everything, Mr. Cartwright, especially this afternoon." Tharyn replied. "Good night, sir."

Ben smiled. "Good night, Tharyn. Pleasant dreams." he said before heading to his own room. Little did he know that in a few hours he was really going to be wishing that his 'Pleasant dreams' had come true for her.

**By the way, her name is pronounced just like "Sharon" except with a "T". I know it's an unusual name, but I found it in a book that took place in the late 1800s-early 1900s, so I figured it would work.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 5**

_Sixteen years ago._

Two outlaws with red hair and bandanas over their faces pointed their guns at a stagecoach, yelling at the driver to halt. The driver quickly complied when one of the outlaws shot the pistol right out of the driver's hand. Before he could get the shotgun out from under the seat, the other outlaw grabbed it. The first then ordered the driver and his assistant to come down from the seat, and all of the occupants to get out of the stage. Two ranchers and a gentleman and his wife stepped out. As the criminals quickly disarmed the men, one noticed that the woman carried an eighteen month old little girl.

"Ma's been wantin' a baby for a while now. It's a shame Pa was hung last year." Sean O'Riley thought.

His brother Seamus noticed the baby as well. He pulled Sean off to the side, still keeping his gun trained on the prisoners. "Ma's been wantin' a baby somethin' fierce. That's a healthy lookin' little one over there. Why don't we just take her to Ma?" he whispered. Seamus was always the more devious one of the two.

"Seamus, we can't take her from her ma! What would Ma think if we kidnapped?" Sean replied, astonished at the thoughtlessness of his brother.

"Sure we can. All we have to do is take her." Seamus replied confidently. He turned to the stage riders. "You know the drill. We'll take all your money and valuables." Sean walked forward holding out a sack for them to put the items in. The men tried to give them trouble, but when Seamus pointed his gun at the lady and her baby, they reluctantly complied. Sean reached the lady and asked for her pearl earrings.

Evelyn Knight looked at her husband, James. He nodded, and she quickly removed them and dropped them into the sack.

Sean was tucking the sack into his saddlebag when he heard Seamus speak again.

"Now, that's a healthy, pretty lookin' little girl you've got there, Mister." He said. "Our ma's been wantin' a little girl from some time now, but it's been impossible for her to have one with Pa being hung. I think we'll just take that little girl home to her right now."

James Knight immediately stood in front of his wife and child. "Over my dead body." He growled.

Seamus sighed. "I didn't want to have to do this, but if that's the way you're going to be, you don't leave me much choice." With that, he shot James Knight right down. Evelyn screamed. Sean was appalled at what his brother had just done. Seamus spoke again. "Now hand that baby over to my brother, and we'll be on our way.

"No! Not my Tharyn!" she cried. The men tried to intervene, but they were quickly knocked out by the butts of the O'Rileys guns. Seamus pointed his gun at Evelyn.

"Hand her over." He ordered.

"No!" she cried, holding the now crying girl tightly.

"He getting way out of line." thought Sean. He tried to say something to his brother, but Seamus did the unthinkable. He shot Evelyn. It was just in the leg, but if she did receive medical treatment soon, she would likely bleed to death.

Sean could not believe what his brother had done. He had shot a lady!

"Get the baby." Seamus said, nodding toward the mother and child.

"Seamus…what…are you thinking?" Sean stuttered, flabbergasted.

"Get her!" Seamus growled. Sean obeyed. He gently pulled the wailing child from its mother's weakening grasp.

"I'm sorry ma'am" he whispered. "I'll make sure she is taken care of. What's her name?"

"Tharyn Marie Knight." Evelyn breathed.

"Come on, little brother!" Seamus called. Sean allowed Evelyn to give her child one last kiss, and he carefully mounted his horse carrying little Tharyn. Turning, they quickly rode off before the men could come to their senses.

Ten minutes later, when they did, they found Evelyn unconscious and James dead. They quickly carried them into the stage and headed as fast as they could toward their next stop, Virginia City. Unfortunately, they were unable to stop Evelyn Knight's bleeding until it was too late. She died not long after they reached Virginia City.

The driver, the assistant, and the two men were able to talk to the sheriff, and he determined that it was the O'Riley Brothers who did it. The sheriff sent a wire to the sheriffs of the surrounding towns to spread the word. An article was printed in all the papers about the tragic event.

When Sean and Seamus returned to their hideout, an abandoned cabin up in the mountains, Seamus was in high spirits. He kept saying how happy their ma was going to be to finally have a baby. They rode up, tied their horse and went into the house, only to find their mother in bed.

Seamus was at her side immediately, while Sean was left trying to find somewhere to lie the girl down. Their mother had had a fever, but she was still weak and trying to recover.

"I had a little bout, but I'm on the mend, son." Nora O'Riley said. Then, the baby cried out. "What is that?" she asked, eyes wide. "Is that…"

"Yes, Ma. We brought you a little girl." Seamus said with a smile. He motioned for Sean to bring Tharyn over. Sean carefully placed the child in his mother's arms.

"Her name is Tharyn Marie." he told her.

"Tharyn Marie, what a lovely name." she murmured. She smiled down at the child. "Hello, Tharyn, I'm your ma." She cooed.

While she talked to the baby, Seamus pulled Sean aside. "Not a word of how we got her to Ma, got it?" he said.

"But, Seamus…"

"Got it?"

"Alright." Sean relented. He did not like it one bit, but he did want his mother to be happy. He looked over at her. Her face was graced by the first real smile she had worn since their father had died.

For two years, Nora and her sons raised Tharyn as their own kin, even though Seamus would not have much to do with the girl after a while. He was bored with her. Sean, however, helped take care of her whenever he could. He love the way she tossed her little brown ringlets when they got in her face. Nora tried to keep a ribbon in her hair to hold it back, but it constantly fell out because of her activity.

Little Tharyn was constantly pretending to be something. Her favorites were a horse and a fairy. By three, she could actually gallop pretty well. In fact, she galloped instead of running. She would toss her "mane" and paw the ground with one foot before taking off around the yard.

When she was pretending to be a fairy was the only time she ran normally. She would lean forward slightly and hold her arms out from her sides like wings. Of course, she had all kinds of adventures with Sean as a fairy or a wild horse. He and Nora genuinely loved the little girl. Seamus, on the other hand, ignored her for the most part.

It was then, two years after the brothers had captured Tharyn, that their mother passed away. She had never been quite as strong as she once was after the fever, so she caught influenza when she went into town for supplies. Within a week, she had gone.

Of course the brothers were distraught. Seamus wanted to get rid of Tharyn; she reminded him too much of their mother. But, Nora's dying wish was that her two sons take care of Tharyn as she had. They, of course, promised, but Seamus thought the toddler nothing but a nuisance.

They had to stay with her for ten years until she turned thirteen. It was not easy for them to get supplies, but somehow they managed it. Sean always made sure that they got new clothes and shoes for Tharyn when hers wore out. Seamus never let him buy her any kind of trinkets, nor did he let Sean play with her anymore. He let him teach her reading, basic math, and local geography, but that was all. Sean secretly carved Tharyn a string of wooden beads for her eighth birthday. Thankfully, Seamus let her keep it. Through the years, however, Sean grew tired of fighting Seamus over his treatment of her, so he stopped paying so much attention to her. At first it was hard for him to ignore her, but after a while, he didn't think much about it. He continued to ensure that Tharyn had proper clothes and all, but that was about it. When she turned thirteen, they went back to robbing stagecoaches, having taught her to cook, sew, clean, and do laundry.

**Chapter 6**

_Back at the Ponderosa…_

Tharyn was tossing and turning, moaning in the grip of a terrible nightmare.

"_Hand her over!" Seamus yelled at James Knight._

"_Over my dead body!" Tharyn's father growled back._

_Seamus cocked his gun. __**BANG!**_

Tharyn shot up in bed screaming. Her door suddenly banged open. There stood Joe, whose room was closest, with his brothers and father just behind him.

"We heard you moaning in your sleep." he said. Ben pushed his way forward.

"What happened?" he asked, lighting the lantern and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Nightmare." Tharyn replied. She buried her face in her hands as tears began to flow. "I saw Seamus kill my father." she sobbed.

"Oh, Tharyn." Ben immediately pulled her into his arms just as he had that afternoon.

"It seemed so real." She cried in to his shoulder.

"It's alright." Ben murmured in her ear. "It's over now." Adam, Hoss, and Joe stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do. They had little experience with girls in this capacity. All three wanted to do something to comfort her, but hadn't a clue of what would help. Ben asked one of them if they would go down to the kitchen to make her some tea. Adam nodded and went down stairs. A few minutes later, he came back with the book of Shakespeare in his hand.

"The water is on to boil, Pa." he said. "I thought maybe Tharyn might like to read this awhile before trying to go back to asleep." He set the book on her bedside table. Then he went back down stairs to keep an eye on the water.

"She going to be alright," Ben told Joe and Hoss. "You boys go back to bed." Joe and Hoss nodded and headed back to their respective rooms.

Tharyn's crying had quieted by the time that Adam brought her cup of tea up. "Here, it'll calm you down." He said, passing her the teacup. He and Ben made sure that she drank it, before leaving.

"Thank you." She murmured as she hugged Ben. "You too, Adam." She gave him a small shaky smile.

"You're welcome, Tharyn. If you want to read for a while, go ahead. Just remember to blow the lantern out." Ben told her. He rose, and he and Adam turned to leave. At the door, they turned back and said good night.

Closing the door, Ben shook his head.

"I hope she sleeps some more tonight, I could tell that she was exhausted earlier." said Adam.

"I do too." replied Ben. "Poor thing just found out that her parents were killed and now she's having nightmares about it."

Tharyn read for half an hour until her eyelids were too heavy to keep open. The problem was that she was afraid to go to sleep again. She feared that she would dream about her parents' death again. Eventually though, she let herself fall into a dreamless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next two chapters. I have a question for all you out there with TVs. Who is the sheriff of Virginia City and Carson City? If anyone could send me a name and description for me to use, it would be great. I didn't use a name and kept the description kind of vague until I can find out something. I don't have TV and I haven't found somewhere online to watch Bonanza yet. If I can't find out anything, I'll just go back and add a made up name.**

**So, without further ado, Chapters 7 and 8!**

**Chapter 7**

The next morning, Tharyn came down to the breakfast table looking like she had hardly slept a wink. The Cartwrights looked at her, concerned. They sincerely hoped that her nightmare experience would not repeat itself that night.

"Well, I'm going into Virginia City to talk to the sheriff today." announced Ben. "Tharyn, since you've been living with them for the past sixteen years, he'll probably want to talk to you too. So, you might want to put your best dress on." Tharyn was quiet.

"What's the matter?" asked Joe.

Tharyn was staring at her hands which she was wringing in her lap. She bit her lip. "I, uh, don't have another dress." she mumbled. "I've never had more than one dress at a time."

"The one you have on will be fine, then." Ben said. Tharyn nodded, and went up to her room to comb her hair and get her shawl. Ben asked the boys to hitch their team of horses to the wagon for him while he waited for Tharyn. She came back down a few minutes later with her hair tied back at the nape of her neck with a worn black ribbon, and her shawl draped around her shoulders. Ben put his hat on, tied his bandana around his neck, and buckled on his gunbelt. A few minutes later, Joe came in and told them that the wagon was ready. They went outside and Joe helped Tharyn up to the wagon seat as Ben climbed up to the seat beside her. Tharyn thanked Joe and waved good-bye as Ben prodded the horses forward.

**Chapter 8**

Tharyn was excited. She had never been to town before. She was amazed by Virginia City. All the people walking down the boardwalks, the honky-tonk music drifting out of the saloon, and the sheer size of the town had Tharyn looking in all directions, trying to take it all in.

Ben parked the wagon in front of the sheriff's office and got down from the wagon seat. Tharyn was about to do the same, but Ben stopped her. "Hold it a minute, young lady. Let me help you down." He walked around to Tharyn's side and took her hand.

Tharyn climbed down with his help. "I'm sorry, Mr. Cartwright, I'm not used to being around gentlemen." she laughed.

"It's alright." Ben smiled back and led her into the building, holding the door for her as they went in. The sheriff of Virginia City was a tall, muscular man, black hair that was touched with gray at his temples. He smiled, shook Ben and Tharyn's hands. He was polite and gentle, but he had an air of authority about him. Ben told Tharyn that he had once been a sergeant in the Calvary. Tharyn could tell. He had the no-nonsense attitude that would be required to handle prisoners, but at the same time, he had the friendliness that would make him likeable. Tharyn liked very much him right away.

Ben told him why they were there. The sheriff asked Tharyn questions about the O'Rileys and got her give him a description of the two. His deputy, who could draw well, came in and the sheriff got him to do sketches of the O'Rileys with Tharyn's help. Then, Ben asked about contacting someone back east that might be able to locate any relatives of Tharyn's. The sheriff said he knew someone that could help and that he would send them a telegram right away. Getting the needed information from Ben, he left and headed to the telegraph office. After the sketches were done, the deputy saw Ben and Tharyn to the door. Ben thanked him and took Tharyn to the hotel for lunch. They had ended up spending a couple hours in the sheriff's office.

Eating in a restaurant was another entirely new experience for Tharyn. She could hardly comprehend being able to get whatever you want even if someone else wanted something different. She was amazed at the number of items on the menu. The only thing was that, with all of the choices, Tharyn had trouble deciding what to get. Eventually, Ben got her to order something, beef vegetable stew. After lunch, Ben decided to surprise Tharyn with a trip to the general store to pick out a new dress.

As they walked down the boardwalk, Ben offered her his arm. Tharyn blushed and took it.

"Where are we going now? The Ponderosa?" she asked.

"No, we have one last stop to make." Ben smiled. He led to the store and up to Mrs. Krump, who helped her husband run the store.

"What can I do for you today, Ben?" Mrs. Krump asked. Then she saw Tharyn. "And who might this be?"

"This is a friend of mine, Tharyn Knight." Ben answered. "Tharyn, this is Mrs. Krump. She and her husband own this store."

Tharyn gave a little curtesy. "How do you do?" she asked Mrs. Krump.

"Just fine, dear. Thank you." Mrs. Krump replied. "What did you need, Ben?"

Ben smiled again. He cleared his throat. "Well, we would like to see some dresses, ma'am."

Mrs. Krump smiled. "Oh, _dresses_ is it?" she laughed. "Right over here…"

Tharyn grabbed Ben's sleeve. "Mr. Cartwright, you don't need to by me a new dress. This one is fine." she said quickly. She was now feeling guilty for mentioning the fact that she had only one.

"I know, but I want to." he told her. "It would make me very happy if you would pick one out." Tharyn nodded. They followed Mrs. Krump over to the racks.

"What size do you wear, dear?" Mrs. Krump asked.

"I don't know; I've always made my own dresses." Tharyn answered. Mrs. Krump led her over to a corner and took some measurements. Then she pointed to a section of dresses that she said should fit. Tharyn was in awe of all the colors, patterns, and styles there were.

"How do I choose?" she asked Ben.

"Well, what do you like? What's your favorite color? Do you like simple or frilly?" Ben said.

Tharyn bit her lip thoughtfully. She had never been able to choose fabric, and the O'Rileys always brought her plain stuff that was either, grey, brown, navy, or black. Tharyn had never had anything colored before. "Will you help me? I've never had a choice before" she asked Ben and Mrs. Krump. So, she held up dresses that she liked the look of, got their opinions and eventually picked one that was a dark grassy green with little white and yellow daisies on it. The dress had a high sweetheart neckline, a pointed waist, puffed elbow-length sleeves, and a full, ankle-length skirt. Mrs. Krump wrapped it up for them as Ben paid for it. Then, thanking Mrs. Krump as they left, Ben and Tharyn walked back to the wagon and headed home.

"Thank you for the dress, Mr. Cartwright." Tharyn said as they drove back to the Ponderosa.

"You're welcome." Ben replied. "I must say, you picked out a very pretty one."

"Tharyn smiled. "I think I'd like to surprise Adam, Joe, and Hoss with it. May I wear it to dinner tonight?"

"Of course," Ben said. "You wear it whenever you want to." Tharyn smiled sleepily. It had been a big day for her. "Go ahead and take a nap; it will be awhile before we get back to the house." Tharyn nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder.

It seemed like only a minute later to Tharyn when Ben woke her up telling her that they were there. She slowly sat up and grabbed the package carrying her dress. Ben helped her down and led her into the house.

The house was quiet, so Ben went to find Hop Sing and ask where the boys were. Hop Sing said that they were all finishing the work on the broken fences as another damaged section had been found, but that they should be back by dinner.

Tharyn took her dress up to her room and came back down with her comb. "Mr. Cartwright?" she asked timidly.

"Yes, Tharyn?"

"This is going to sounds odd, but….do you know of some other way I can do my hair?" she asked. "I know you aren't really the right person to ask, but all I know how to do is pull it back like I have now or braiding." she added quickly.

Ben smiled. "Come here." He led her over to the coach and had her sit beside him with her back turned to him. He then combed the hair around her face back and tied it back near the top of her head so that the bow was barely visible. This allowed most of her hair to hang freely down her back while pulling the hair surrounding her face out of it. Ben led her to the mirror by the door. Tharyn couldn't help but smiled at her reflection. She had never seen her hair look so pretty before.

Turning to Ben she threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you, sir!" she said.

Ben laughed. "Now let's see how that new dress looks on you." He suggested. Tharyn smiled brightly and dashed up stairs. It only took her about a minute to come back down wearing the dress. She smile down at it and twirled around.

"I feel like a princess." she giggled. Seeing her smiling in the new dress made Ben very happy indeed.

A little while later, Adam, Hoss, and Joe came in and went to wash up for dinner. It was not until they came back into the living room that they saw Tharyn. Adam was the first down, and thus the first to see her.

"Pa, why didn't you tell me we were having company for dinner?" he teased, smiling at Tharyn. Joe and Hoss came down asking what he was talking about. Adam nodded at Tharyn.

"What do you think?" she asked them. She turned on the spot so that they could see it properly.

"My, my, you're right, brother," said Joe. "Pa didn't tell us we were having such a lovely guest with us for dinner." He gave Tharyn a little bow. Tharyn blushed bright red and curtsied back. Suddenly, Hop Sing announced that dinner was ready. Tharyn sat beside Ben and Adam grabbed the seat on her other side, much to Joe's disappointment. Dinner that night proceded much as it had the previous evening. Afterwards, Tharyn sat in an armchair reading the book of Shakespeare while the Cartwrights cleaned their rifles and shotguns.

Tharyn smiled at the banter the bounced back and forth between the brothers. She sighed inwardly, wondering what it would be like to have brothers like them and what it would be like to have a father like Ben Cartwright. She read until she grew sleepy, then she said her good nights and climb the stairs to her room. She carefully hung her dress up in the wardrobe and slipped her nightgown on. After saying her prayers, she happily got into bed. It had been a wonderful day; one of the best she could remember having. Tharyn was so happy and content that she forgot about her nightmares until they visited her again that night. Thankfully, only Ben was woken by her cries; the boys were too exhausted for them to interrupt their sleep.

Ben, of course, sat with her for a while until she had calmed down and drifted back to sleep. As he tucked the quilt back around her, he wished with all his heart that these terrible dreams would not trouble her slumber. He hoped that she would soon be able to sleep without the fear of nightmares haunting her.


	4. Chapter 4

**This might very well be the last time I get to update before I leaving for PCC, so enjoyed folks!**

**Chapter 9**

Sean O'Riley was exhausted. It was getting dark, but he was less than a mile from home, where he knew his little "sister" Tharyn was waiting. Seamus had stopped at a town, and wanted to stay a few days since they finished their circuit early. Sean decided to ride on ahead. He finally rode up to the cabin and froze. There were no lights in the windows. Everything was dark. He quickly tied his horse to a low-hanging branch, and ran into the house. Fumbling to strike a match, he lit one of the oil lamps and looked around. Everything was in order except for his and Seamus's bedroom door. It was open; neither he nor Seamus ever left it open. It could only mean one thing. Tharyn had gone in there. Sean checked her room. Everything looked fine. He went in his room and found a drawer of the dresser open. In it was some of his and Seamus's clothes folded and put away neatly. Sean smiled. Tharyn was always so thoughtful. But where was she? Sean sat on the edge of the bed thinking. Suddenly his eyes rested on the open drawer once more and he remembered. The was the drawer that Seamus had put the clipping in! He ahd cut it out of the paper so Ma wouldn't read it, telling her that the story was too awful for her to read. Amazingly, she had believed him. Sean had tried to burn it, but Seamus took it away from him and kept it as a memento of the first big crime that they had accomplished.

Sean threw the clothes out of the drawer looking…. The newspaper clipping was not there. He rapidly searched through the other drawers, then he ran into Tharyn's room. Her chest of drawers was empty. The photograph of her parents was not on her bedside table. Her shawl and brown leather satchel was gone too. He sank down onto her bed. She was gone. Their Tharyn was gone, and she probably knew the truth about them. For a moment, tears began to well up in his eyes for her loss, then, suddenly the outlaw in him took over. She knew where the cabin was! She could tell someone where their hideout was!

As he began to panic, he realized something else. Tharyn had never left the cabin before. She wouldn't know where a town was. She was wandering out in the hills with no idea where to go! He lit the lantern that he usually used out in the barn and went back outside and mounted his horse.

By the light of the lantern, he searched for hours, calling her name. Finally, when he began to nod in the saddle, he turned back to the cabin promising himself that he would resume his search at first light.

**Chapter 10**

_Two nights later…_

Tharyn could not sleep. One of her nightmares had haunted her dreams again, but she had thankfully been able to stop herself from screaming. However, she was now restless and fearful of sleep, so she finally got up, wrapped up in her shawl, and went down stairs by the light of her lamp. She went to the bookcase and took down the volume of Shakespeare. She sat in one of the armchairs and set her lamp on the side table. Looking up to see of anyone was watching, Tharyn guiltily turned in the chair so that her back was against the arm and her legs were dangling over the other. This was her favorite reading position even though she knew that it was a rather improper way to sit in a chair. She opened the book to "Katherine the Shrew", (she needed something funny right now) and began reading.

Ben Cartwright could not sleep. He could not figure out why. He was restless and no position was comfortable. Finally, he decided to get up, go down stairs, and read for a while. Putting his robe on, he left his room, went to the landing and happened to look down. He saw that someone else was having trouble sleeping too. A closer look revealed that it was Tharyn.

"What is she doing up?" Ben thought. Then, he noticed that way she was sitting and smiled. Little Joe's mother, Marie, used to sit like that when she thought no one was looking.

Tharyn was so engrossed in her play that she did not notice Ben until he was all the way down the stairs. When she saw him, she jumped up.

"What are you doing awake at this hour, Tharyn?" he asked

"I couldn't sleep." she said truthfully.

"You too?" Ben replied. Tharyn nodded. He noticed how weary she looked. That was why he had made her stay in the house for the past two days. She was just recovering from an illness and a trek through the wilderness after all. Tomorrow though, he was going to let her go riding if she wanted. He could not keep her inside forever.

"Tharyn, did you have another nightmare?" he asked.

At first he thought that she was going to deny it, but she nodded her head. "Yes, sir." she answered. She bowed her head, fighting back tears.

Ben went to her. "Tharyn…"

She suddenly threw her arms around him. He instantly enveloped her in his arms. She had only been with them three and a half days, but she was already like a daughter to him. "I don't know why I keep having them." Tharyn whispered into his shoulder.

"It's alright," Ben said. "everyone has nightmares now and then."

"I know, bit I have them every night!" she answered.

Ben rested his chin on the top of her head. "I'm sorry, Tharyn." he whispered. He gently pulled her over to the couch where they sat side-by-side. Her head rested on his shoulder and his arms were still around her. They sat like that for a long while; Ben lost track of time. He couldn't think of anything else to do, so he told Tharyn stories about times when his sons had had nightmares.

Tharyn sat there and let his deep voice wash over her. It was warm and comforting; it seem to Thar Her head rested on his shoulder and his arms were still around her. They sat like that for a long while; Ben lost track of time. He couldn't think of anything else to do, so he told Tharyn stories about times when his sons had had nightmares.

Tharyn sat there and let his deep voice wash over her. It was warm and comforting; it seem to Tharyn that she was being wrapped up in a soft, thick blanket by his words. Eventually, she fell asleep and so did Ben. Adam and Hoss found them in the living room in the morning when they came down for breakfast.

The two looked at each other. Adam reached over and lightly tapped his pa on the shoulder.

"Good morning, boys." said Ben quietly. He was trying not to wake Tharyn.

However, Hoss's "What are ya'll doin' down here, Pa?" caused her to stir. She slowly sat up, stretching. Then she caught sight of Adam and Hoss. She instinctively wrapped her shawl around her tighter. She looked at Ben who nodded. She dashed up the stairs and practically slammed her bedroom door shut just as Joe was coming out of his room.

"What's going on?" he asked as he came down stairs.

"That's what I was askin' Pa." said Hoss. "He and Tharyn were asleep down here."  
>"She had another nightmare last night, and came down here to read. I couldn't sleep so I came down here too." said Ben. "Poor thing, she's almost afraid to sleep now because she knows what she'll dream about."<p>

"When are you supposed to hear back from Sheriff Coffee?" asked Adam.

"I don't know," Ben answered. "It's only been three days." Just then, Tharyn came back down wearing her green dress with her hair done how Ben showed her. Hop Sing came out of the kitchen announcing that breakfast was ready. They all walked into the dining room, or rather, Ben, Adam, and Tharyn walked into the dining room while Joe and Hoss practically ran into the room. This caused Tharyn to laugh.

"Hold up, gentlemen," she said. "I know what ya'll are up to." She took her place beside Ben. "Since Joe and Adam have been able to sit beside me, I think it's only fair that Hoss now gets his turn." She said with a smile at Joe and Hoss. Joe looked highly disappointed as Hoss grinned shyly and took his place on her other side.

At one during breakfast, Ben looked over at Tharyn and his sons. It was clear that Adam, Joe, and Hoss were becoming attached to her. He couldn't help but smile at Hoss and Tharyn. Hoss was entertaining her with a story of saving Little Joe's hide, and she was thoroughly enjoying it, but that was not what was amusing. Hoss was a great, big giant of a man and Tharyn was rather petite at 5'3''. They were exact opposites, but they got along together perfectly. Hoss loved to tell stories, and she loved to hear them.

Both she and Adam loved books. He had seen her and Adam talking about various classics last evening. Ben suspected that she loved to learn about anything and books were the only way she had learned anything.

By some comments that he had heard her say, he had also discovered that she had a little bit of an adventurous side to her, just like Joe. This was probably because she had never been able to go anywhere and do anything before.

She was smart, gentle, selfless, unfailingly polite and kind. She was not afraid of work; she been found helping Hop Sing in the kitchen a few times. She was thoughtful too. Joe had mention in some conversation that one of his favorite things was apple pie. That evening, as dessert, she had baked Joe an apple pie. Ben knew that he loved her as a daughter already and that, when she left to go back east, she would take a piece of his heart with her, and he suspected it would be the same with his sons too.

Suddenly, a thought stuck him. What if she had no family back east? It was possible that she was the last of her family. If that was the case, he knew that he wanted to see about adoption. How wonderful it would be to have a lady in the house again…

**Chapter 11**

After breakfast, Ben and Adam took Tharyn riding. Actually they had to teach her how to ride. She knew how to mount and sit, but she did not know what to do with the reins. She had ridden with Sean and Seamus before, so she knew what it was like. She just had never been able to direct the horse herself. Under Adam's instruction, she had caught on quickly. Ben smiled as he watched Adam's patient handling of the inexperienced rider. Soon they were cantering across a vast pasture of the Ponderosa.

At one point, she raced ahead in a gallop, laughing and calling "Bet you can't catch me, Adam!" Adam shook his head and raced after her. Of course, he caught up to her, being a better rider and more comfortable on a horse. They let the horses walk as Ben caught up.

Suddenly, Tharyn grabbed Adam's sleeve.

"What is it?" he asked urgently. Tharyn was pointing to a copse of trees.

"What's wrong, Tharyn?" Ben asked. He could see nothing.

"It was Sean, I'm sure of it!" she gasped fearfully. "I recognized his horse." Just then, a bush near the ground moved.

"Adam, take Tharyn back to the house." Ben ordered. "I check out those trees."

"Yes, Pa." Adam answered and led Tharyn back toward the house at a canter.

Ben cautiously approached the trees and bushes with his gun drawn, but he found nothing. Sighing, mounted his horse and headed back to the house.

Upon reaching the house, he found Sheriff Coffee and Adam talking.

"Roy, what brings you all the way out here?" Ben asked.

"This." the sheriff handed Ben a telegram. "It from my friend back east."

"Already?" Ben said. "It's only been four days." He opened it and began reading.

"I know, but Jack is one of the best." Sheriff Coffee said.

"What's it say, Pa?" asked Adam.

"That he couldn't find anyone who was related to Tharyn. Apparently, both of her parents were only children and both sets of grandparents are deceased as well." Ben sighed and folded up the telegram.

"Poor thing," said the sheriff. "First kidnapped by outlaws and now she has no family to go back to." He shook his head sadly.

"Well, thank you for bringing his by, Sheriff." said Ben shaking his hand. Sheriff Coffee shook Adam's hand as well, mounted his horse, and left for town.

"Where's Tharyn?" asked Ben.

"In the stable grooming the horses. That's one thing she has down pat." said Adam. "Do you want me to get her?"

"No, not yet." answered Ben. "Get Hoss and Joe; there is something I want to talk to you boys about." Ben walked back in the house as Adam went to find his brothers. He was waiting in the living room when they came in.

"What is it, Pa? Adam said you got a telegram from the sheriff about Tharyn's folks." Hoss said immediately.

"I did, Hoss." replied Ben. "It would seem that she has no living realatives."

"Poor little gal." murmured Hoss.

"What's going to happen to her now?" asked Joe.

"That's what I want to talk to you boys about." Ben began. "I know what I'm asking is a lot but hear me out. I've grown quite attached to Tharyn, and I know you three have too." Adam, Hoss, and Joe nodded. "Now, I haven't asked Tharyn about it yet, so nothing's definite." he continued. "What do you boys think about adopting her?"

Adam, Hoss, and Joe looked at each other in wonder. They had talked about the same thing when they were cleaning the stable yesterday. They all three had said how great it would be if Tharyn could be their sister.

However, Ben mistook their looks and silence as "no"s. "Oh, that's what you think about it. Well, I must admit that I'm disappointed. I really thought…"

Joe stopped him mid-sentence. "Hold it, Pa," he said smiling. "We love it."

"Really?"

"Really!" said Hoss. "We were just sayin' yesterday how that we wished she could be our little sister." Ben looked at each of their faces; all three look so happy that they could hardly stand it. They were all grinning from ear to ear.

Well, then," Ben said, starting to laugh. "I guess we'll have to talk to Tharyn about it , and if she's willing, we'll talk to the sheriff tomorrow." The boys started laughing too. "Joe, would please go get Tharyn." asked Ben. Joe ran outside and found Tharyn in the stables.

"Hi, Joe." she said as he approached. She could see that he had been running. "What's the rush?"

Joe grabbed her hand. "Come on. We have something to talk to you about?"

"What?" she asked, confused.

"You'll see in a minute!" Joe teased as he dragged her back into the house where the others were waiting.

By the time Joe came back with Tharyn, Ben was starting to get nervous. What if she didn't want to be adopted?

"What is it, Mr. Cartwright?" she asked.

"Well, I sure you know that we are very fond of you, Tharyn." He began.

She smiled and nodded. "I'm very fond of all of you too." she said shyly.

That gave Ben hope. "Well, Sheriff Coffee came by and gave me a telegram saying that no relatives of your's can be found, but, we've discussed it amongst ourselves and have come to an agreement; we simply need your answer. How would you feel about us adopting you?"

The Cartwrights waited with bated breath.

Tharyn had bowed her head when Ben said that she had no relatives, but her head shot back up at his question. Did he say _adopt_ her? "You mean, you want me for your daughter?" she asked.

"Yes," Ben replied. "Very much."

"And ya'll want me for your sister?" she asked Adam, Hoss, and Joe. They nodded vigorously.

Tharyn couldn't believe it. She knew she loved them as family, but she had never dreamed that they might consider making her one of them. Tears of joy welled up in her eyes and spilled down her face.

Ben saw her tears and thought that she was upset. "Tharyn, there's no need to cry," he said. "If you don't want us to adopt you, we won't."

Tharyn shook her head and launched herself in to his arms. "There nothing in the world right now that I want more than to be a Cartwright." she cried.

Ben laughed in joy and relief. He held her in a tight hug and whirled her around. Joe let out yell and jumped up into the air. "We're gonna have a little sister!" laughed Hoss. He and Adam were grinning from ear to ear again. Tharyn let go of Ben and hugged each of the boys. Adam just held tight for a moment; Hoss hugged her very carefully, afraid that he might crush her in his excitement; Joe put his arms around her waist and whirled her around like Ben did.

"Joe!" she giggled in surprise.

"That settles it." said Ben. "we'll go to town tomorrow and asked Sheriff Coffee when the judge is coming to town!"

All four of his children cheered. A few minutes later, Hop Sing came and told them that lunch was ready.

"My goodness, Mr. Cartwright, you all very happy about something." remarked Hop Sing as they gathered around the table still laughing and talking excitedly about Tharyn's adoption.

"Tharyn's going to be one of us, Hop Sing." said Adam. Hop Sing looked in disbelief at Ben.

"It's true, Hop Sing, I'm going to adopt Tharyn as my daughter." said Ben.

"Miss Tharyn is staying?"Hop Sing asked. He smiled. "Welcome to family, Miss Tharyn."

"Thank you Mr. Hop Sing." She laughed. Throughout lunch and the rest of the day, Tharyn was excited and restless. Of course, she took advantage of her new status and gave Ben and the boys as many hugs as she could. At bed time, she gave them each one last hug good night, and headed up. She got half way up, and she turned around, running back to her new pa. "Love you." she whispered as she gave him a kiss on the cheek which he returned. She ran back up stairs and stopped again at the landing. "I know it's not official yet, but I'm going to say it anyway," she called down. " I love you, Adam, Hoss, and Joe!"

There was a moment of silence before she heard a chorus of "Love you, Tharyn!" from her soon-to-be brothers. She practically skipped to her room and sank happily beneath the blankets. She could still hardly believe that she was going to be a Cartwright. With a happy sigh, she snuggled down and fell asleep. Not one nightmare haunted her that night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys; I'm back! Here what little I could do while taking freshman nursing classes. **

**(For those planning on a carreer in nursing, those were really tough.)**

**Chapter 11**

The next morning, Tharyn came bouncing down the stairs for breakfast. She was wearing the green dress and was wearing her hair like Ben had showed her again. Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Joe were in the dining room waiting.

"You seem happy about something." Ben commented when he saw her big grin.

"I am happy!" she laughed and put her hands on her hips. "I'm getting a family!" Ben and the boys laughed.

"How did you sleep?" asked Ben. "I did hear a peep all night."

"That's the other reason I'm happy this morning; I didn't have a single nightmare last night!" Tharyn said.

"That's wonderful!" said Ben as Adam, Hoss, Joe agreed.

"I hope this means that I won't have any more nightmares at all." Said Tharyn.

"So do I." replied Ben. "Well, after breakfast, you boys could go and get the team and wagon ready, we'll go and talk to the sheriff about adopting Tharyn." To this they all cheered and quickly finished their breakfasts so they could get going sooner.

Once in town, they went to Sheriff Coffee's office.

"Well, howdy Ben! I see you brought the boys with you." He said as he shook their hands. "And your young house guest. How are you, miss?" he offered Tharyn his had as well.

"Well, thank you." She replied with a bright smile.

"I see staying at the Ponderosa as done you some good. Before, you were hardly grinning, and now your lighting up the room!" Sheriff Coffee smiled.

"Thank you, sir." Said Tharyn shyly.

"Well what can I do for you folks?" asked the sheriff.

"Well, Sheriff, my sons and I would like to adopt Tharyn as a member of the family." Said Ben.

"Oh!" The sheriff said. "That's what all the big smiles are about. Well, I can help you with the petition, but only a judge can sign off on it and actually make it all official."

"Well then, let's start on the petition!" said Ben. It took a couple of hours for them to figure out and sign the paperwork. It was a little more complicated since Tharyn was eighteen and had to give her consent to be adopted since she was legally an adult. However, they had most of the difficult paperwork done by one 'o' clock.

"Well, the afternoon is getting on. Why don't you go and have lunch." Said Sheriff Coffee. "We can finish this up afterward or even another day. The judge won't be here for another week."

"Thank you, Sheriff." Replied Ben. "This really means a lot to us."

"Indeed it does." Said Adam as he shook the sheriff's hand. Hoss and Joes shook the sheriff's hand and said their goodbyes as well.

"Thank you, Sheriff." Said Tharyn as she took Ben's arm.

"Your very welcome, little lady." He replied. Tharyn smiled and let Ben lead her out of the office and onto the boardwalk.

"Well, how does lunch at the hotel sound?" Ben asked. He received a cheer of approval from Hoss, at which everyone else burst out laughing. After a leisurely lunch at the hotel restaurant, they headed back to where the wagon and horses were tied up, and passed by the general store. Tharyn glanced at the window, and saw one of the prettiest dresses she had ever seen on a manakin in the window. It was cobalt blue with a white, viney floral pattern. There was a wide ruffle of white islet lace like a collar on the round neckline. The straight sleeves came to the elbow and had a wide ruffle of white lace too. The big ruffle at the hem had lace as well.

"How lovely." She whispered to herself. She didn't dare hope for such a nice dress; she would almost be afraid to wear something that fine. However, her glaze did not go unnoticed by Adam who walked just behind her.

"Well, you boys, head back to the Ponderosa and get started on our chores. I see I can finish up this paperwork with the sheriff." Said Ben when they reached the horses tied up outside the sheriff's office. Adam, Joe, and Hoss nodded and said good-bye as Ben and Tharyn reentered the office. Luckily, there wasn't too much left to do, and Ben and Tharyn were able head back to the Ponderosa.

**Chapter 12**

"Seamus, I'm telling you she's gone." Said Sean. "She wasn't here when I got here." Sean's older brother Seamus had just got back from their rounds of stagecoach robbing. When He came home to find their "sister" missing, he was furious.

"Then where is she?" he yelled.

"I thought I saw her riding with someone in a pasture down below the foothills."

"You _thought_ you saw her?"

"Well, she was quite a distance away, and she was riding, but it looked like her." Replied Sean.

"I guess we'll just have to ride down there and find out if it is her." Said Seamus.

"Do we have to?" asked Sean. "I mean, she looked so happy there were she is. Ma would want her to be happy, and I haven't seen her smile in I don't know how long."

"Are you forgetting? She knows where we are! She could tell a sheriff or marshall were we are. Do you want that?" Seamus answered. "We have to bring her back before she talks!"

"Okay, Seamus. I lead the way." Said Sean reluctantly.

After an hour's ride down the hilly mountain, the O'Rileys found themselves on the Ponderosa. They came to a pasture and saw Adam, Hoss, and Joe helping some hands round up cattle.

"If we play it nice and easy, they probably won't notice anything." Said Seamus. "I'll do the talking." Sean nodded warily. Seamus rode up to the Cartwrights with a fake smile plastered on, Sean more hesitantly following.

"Hello!" called Seamus.

Adam, Hoss, and Joe turned to face them. "Howdy." Said Adam after he told the hands to keep the cattle moving without them. " I'm Adam Cartwright and these are my brothers, Hoss and Joe. What can we do for you?"

"Well, you can tell me if you've seen our little sister." Seamus replied. "She's petite, has dark brown hair and eyes, and she was wearing a grey dress last time we saw her."

"You lost your sister?" asked Hoss. He passed a fleeting look in Adam and Joe's direction which they returned.

"She went out riding while we were out working. When we got back to the house, she was still not home. We've looked for her for three days and have found little trace." Said Seamus.

"You know, meetings usually warrant introductions." Mentioned Adam. "Just who are you two?" he recognized them immediately from the description that Tharyn had given the sheriff.

"Well, I'm Patrick and my brother is Devin." Seamus quickly lied. "Our sister's name is Tharyn. Have you seen any lass that might be her?"

"Could be. "said Joe. "Pa and I found a young lady not far from here that matched that description."

"Thing is, her story is a little bit different from your's." added Hoss.

"Oh?"

"According to her, she was running from two men who claimed to be her brothers but were actually her parents' murderers and her abductors." Said Adam. "and she isn't interested in returning at all."

"Is that so?" asked Seamus. "Supposin' we go and see this young lady you found. See if she is our sister or not.

"I'm afraid she is not here right now. She is in town with our pa."

"Well, we'll wait then." Said Seamus stubbornly.

"All right," said Adam. "Follow me." With that, he and his brothers led Sean and Seamus to the house.

Ben was just in the act of helping Tharyn down from the wagon seat when Adam, Hoss, Joe, Sean, and Seamus came riding in.

"You're in luck, here they are now." Said Joe.

"Who is this?" asked Ben.

"their names are Patrick and Devin." Said Adam. "They're looking for their sister, and wanted to see if Tharyn was her."

Tharyn sat frozen on the edge of the wagon seat. It couldn't be them. How did they find her so soon? They should just be getting back from the trail about now! The Cartwrights could see how tense and scared she was. Ben gently helped her down and she stayed close to his side.

"Tharyn? Don't you know your own brothers?" asked Seamus in mock concern with his arms out-streached towards her. "We've come to take you home, colleen."

"No!" she cried. "I know who my brothers are, and they certainly aren't you! You're not taking me anywhere!"

Seamus lowered his arms. "If we're not your brothers, then who is?" he asked, his voice casual, but his eyes glinting dangerously. The Cartwrights caught the look in his eye and Ben immediately put his arm around Tharyn's shoulder as the boys took a step closer to her. Tharyn knew that they were silently claiming her as their own, and she felt safe with her pa and brothers-to-be surrounding her protectively.

"Ah, I see." Said Seamus. "you think you can just run away, leave us, get yourself a new family, and get away with it. Well, that not happening. You're a-comin' home with us right now!" he cried angrly and reached forward to take Tharyn by the arm. However, he was looking at the barrels of Adam, Hoss, and Joe's pistols before he could lay a hand on her.

"You are not takin' Tharyn anywhere, Mister." Said Hoss.

"I want you to mount your horses, ride off my ranch, and never come here again." Ordered Ben gravely.

Seamus seemed to size up his opponents and think better of using force. "Very well, you win today." He turned and mounted his horse. "But don't think this is the end of this, especially you Tharyn." He threatened and galloped off with Sean following close behind.

"If they come here after Tharyn like that again…." Hoss began angerly, but Ben stopped him.

"Calm down, Hoss. We need to let the sheriff know that they are in the area and that they are looking for Tharyn." Said Ben. "Joe, you're probably the fastest rider. Go and tell Sheriff Coffee that the O'Rileys are back."

"Yes, Pa." Joe replied and immediately mounted his horse and cantered off in the direction of town. Ben, Adam, and Hoss took Tharyn inside.

"How did they find me so fast?" Tharyn whispered to herself as she sank sown onto the couch. She buried her face in her hands, trying to stay calm. Sean and Seamus's sudden appearance had left her shaken.

"Tharyn, are you all right?" asked Ben.

"I don't know how they found me so fast. They should have just been getting back to the cabin today." She said raising her head. "I'm sorry" she whispered.

"What for?" asked Adam.

"For bringing the likes of Seamus and Sean upon you. If Seamus says he's going to do something, he'll do it without hesitating.' She replied.


End file.
